Planetary Rings Model

To Dye For!

Has your old T-shirt seen better days? No need to let it die. Dye it instead! Next time your family boils colorful veggies, don’t dump the water. Use it to brew natural dyes the way the colonists and pioneers did. Then use the dyes to jazz up your shirt and give it new life.

Make Your Own Shake Table

Architects and engineers who design buildings in areas prone to earthquakes try to create structures that will be stable if an earthquake hits. a shake table is used to shake a model and see what happens. It makes the same motion as an earthquake. You can see what it’s like when you build your own shake table and then try to create structures that can withstand the force of moving earth. . . MORE

Mini Food Chain

Map Your State's Natural Resources

Make a three-dimensional map to give you an understanding of the natural resources in your state. This map will include natural resources found in your state, such as fish or forests, but not products made by them.

Make Your Own Igneous Rocks

When a volcano erupts, the rocks that form can have minerals that are big enough to see, or so small they can’t be seen. Sometimes a mineral doesn’t form at all and the rock is a glass. Try some of your own “lava” to see why each of these types of rocks form.

Origami Solar System Mobile

All the members of our solar system travel around the sun. The route they travel is called an orbit. Each planet’s orbit is different. Like runners at the Olympics, each has a separate lane. The planets do not switch lanes because the sun’s gravity keeps them in their place. If there was no gravity the planets would simply spin off into space like bumper cars. Imagine that!

Make Your Own Barometer

One way you can predict the weather is by using a barometer. Barometers measure the air pressure around you. Keep track of the air pressure, and see what kind of weather happens the next day. After some practice, you might be able to make your own forecasts!

Build a Balance Board

Earth’s atmosphere is in a delicate balance. Humans are adding carbon dioxide at a rapid rate. The atmosphere needs to stay in balance just like your balance board, but it doesn’t take much to create an imbalance.

Burning Fossil Fuels

Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. Large quantities of carbon dioxide are linked to global climate change. Humans release on average annually about 64 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That is like releasing 3.2 trillion watermelons into the sky every year. Since greenhouse gases are invisible, colorless, and. . . MORE

Take a Walk Through Time

Life began on the earth a very long time ago. Compared with when life first appeared, humans have been around for a very, very short period of time. This activity will help you think about geologic time compared to human time.

Measure the Movement of Plates

You’ll need to have a lot of patience for this project. If you stick with it, you’ll have a great understanding of how the continents move! Ask an adult to help you find a location where it is safe and acceptable to use pins that will remain undisturbed for at least a month. You don’t want to use a nice wall in the house!

Extract Your Own DNA

In the movie Jurassic Park, biologists extract dinosaur DNA from mosquito-like bugs that were preserved for millions of years in amber. Today’s scientists have not yet turned this fiction into fact, but you can easily see your own DNA in your own home.

Be a Sky Watcher

It is not possible for you to observe a comet each night, but you can observe the moon and the stars. In this activity, you are going to observe the stars during the period of a week using only your eyes. Write down your observations and draw pictures in your science journal.

Can You Spot Mercury?

Although it’s one of the brightest objects in the sky, seeing the closest planet to the sun isn’t easy. As seen from Earth, it never strays far from the sun’s blinding glare. Many famous astronomers are rumored to have never seen the elusive planet.

What If?

The Space race ended with a walk on the moon. What might have happened if the Soviet Union had won the race? What might have happened if the U.S. space program had continued? Do some brainstorming and come up with some ideas!